Transporting an incapacitated or injured person to a hospital or other treatment facility is often an essential part of providing proper medical care. An ambulance, helicopter, or other similar vehicle is well-known for such transport. However, in some instances, such as when the injured person is in a forested area, on an embankment, or on a battlefield, transport vehicles may have difficulty accessing the location of the injured person. In such cases, the injured person is typically first transported from the injury site to the ambulance and thereafter taken to the hospital or other treatment facility. Lightweight and easily deployable stretchers, litters, and other similar devices are known for facilitating such casualty movement. To help prevent further injury, these devices generally include restraints or straps to immobilize the injured person during transport.
The present inventor has recognized some disadvantages with such lightweight stretchers. For instance, during use of the stretcher, the straps typically extend transversely across the stretcher and are tightly cinched to restrain the person on the stretcher. One disadvantage of this configuration is that the injured person is primarily restrained via the compressive force of the tightened straps, which may complicate or exacerbate existing injuries. In addition, while transverse straps may help prevent the injured person from rolling off the sides of the rescue stretcher, such straps are not particularly well-suited for preventing the person from sliding toward the top or bottom ends of the stretcher. Preventing this movement is a great concern during air-lift rescue operations or transport on sloped terrains where gravitational forces pull the injured person and may cause sliding off the top or bottom ends of the stretcher.
Accordingly, the present inventor has recognized a need for an improved rescue stretcher with securement straps to arrest movement along the top, bottom, and sides of stretcher while minimizing the compressive forces exerted on the injured person. Additional aspects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.